This disclosure relates generally to ball-operated valves, and more specifically to such valves having a ball-receiving baffle, and to configurations for such baffles.
Subterranean well operations commonly employ valves at different locations along a wellbore for a variety of purposes. In some applications, downhole valves are employed to isolate sections of conduit within a wellbore. Such valves can be individually actuated opened/closed to isolate different portions of a string of conduits along the length of the wellbore. One type of valve employed in subterranean wells is a ball seat valve.
A typical ball seat valve has a bore or passageway that is restricted by a baffle forming a seat to receive a ball (which may literally be a spherical “ball” or in some examples may be another configuration of a plug or other mechanism that will engage the seat. The term “ball” as used herein, unless expressly indicated otherwise, refers to any sphere or other configuration of a plug intended to engage a baffle to close or substantially restrict a flow path through a tool. A ball can be dropped down the conduit within a wellbore to be disposed on the seat. Once the ball is seated, the fluid passage through the valve is closed and thereby prevents fluid from flowing through the bore of the ball seat valve, which, in turn, isolates the conduit section in which the valve is disposed. As the fluid pressure above the ball builds up, the conduit can be pressurized for any of a number of potential purposes, including for example, tubing testing, actuating a tool connected to the ball seat such as setting a packer, or fracturing particular layers of a formation through which the wellbore passes.